Random phase plates for beam smoothing on the Nova laser.

We discuss the design and fabrication of 80-cm-diameter random phase plates for target-plane beam smoothing on the Nova laser. Random phase plates have been used in a variety of inertial confinement fusion target experiments, such as studying direct-drive hydrodynamic stability and producing spatially smooth x-ray backlighting sources. These phase plates were produced by using a novel sol-gel dip-coating technique developed by us. The sol-gel phase plates have a high optical damage threshold at the second- and third-harmonic wavelengths of the Nd:glass laser and have excellent optical performance.